Vitter Reiterates Need for Spending Cuts, Calls for Full Faith and Credit Act

Press Release

Treasury Secretary Geithner announced today the federal government met its borrowing limit

U.S. Sen. David Vitter today urged his colleagues to slash spending and pass legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), the Full Faith and Credit Act. The legislation, of which Vitter is an original co-sponsor, would ensure that the U.S. government does not default on its debt by requiring the Treasury to prioritize payments on the debt in case the debt ceiling is not raised. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced today that the federal government had met its statutory borrowing limit.

"If you have a family member about to max out a credit card, you don't figure out how to increase the limit; you work to reduce the amount of spending. Until Sen. Reid and President Obama get serious about significant spending cuts, I won't support an increase to our debt limit," Vitter said. "The Full Faith and Credit Act would defuse the administration's sky-is-falling rhetoric by spelling out the Treasury secretary's responsibility to prioritize debt payments if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. This would remove the threat of default on the government's debts and allow us to focus on serious efforts to tackle the debt and balance the budget."

Vitter introduced legislation that has been incorporated into the Full Faith and Credit Act that, along with prioritizing debt and interest payments, makes sure Social Security benefits for seniors will also be protected. Vitter is also a co-sponsor of a Balanced Budget Amendment.

"We've heard the scare tactics used to rush through the bailouts of automakers and Wall Street banks -- and folks just aren't buying it anymore. Our legislation would blunt some of this false sense of urgency by ensuring we don't default on our most pressing obligations," said Vitter.

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